Thursday, October 22, 2026

What's happening

What's going on around the world, briefly.

NNPC to Drop Petrol Retail Margin for 30 Days as Critics Question Plan

Nigeria

NNPC to Drop Petrol Retail Margin for 30 Days as Critics Question Plan

Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited will sell petrol at cost at its filling stations for 30 days, after the Federal Government announced a temporary discount aimed at easing pressure from rising fuel prices.

Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele said NNPC Limited would forgo its retail profit margin, with public transport operators given priority. The government said the arrangement is intended to soften the effect of higher fuel costs on households and transport users.

The plan means NNPC Retail will base its price on the fuel’s landing cost rather than adding its retail margin. The government is also negotiating a ceiling of ₦1,350 per litre on petrol’s landing or ex-gantry cost, and said it would increase forward sales of crude to local refineries.

President Bola Tinubu backs the measure, the Presidency said. The government insists it is not restoring the petrol subsidy, which ended in May 2023, but allowing NNPC Retail to sell without its usual margin for a limited period.

Former vice president Atiku Abubakar, the Obidient Movement, the Nigeria Democratic Congress and Seyi Makinde’s presidential campaign organisation rejected the discount as inadequate and politically motivated.

Trade Union Congress president Festus Osifo and Social Democratic Party figure Adewole Adeboye also questioned the policy. Adeboye said its legal basis and structure were unclear, while both raised concerns about how it would be implemented.

Some energy experts welcomed temporary relief, while others warned that the measure could amount to another form of subsidy if its costs are not transparently managed. The announcement does not set out how those costs will be accounted for.

Reporting

Published

People also searched